An AirWHAT?
by JmCoolie
Summary: So, when boredom from reruns and some mad 8th grade English skills clash, a fun and cute story unfolds. Melissa and her friends don't know what to expect when they find themselves in a new, crazy world the world of Avatar! How will they survive?


-1"Long ago, the four nations lived in harmony."

Four? Or three?

"Three nations lived in harmony.

Then, everything changed when the Hessians attacked."

"What on earth is this, Melissa?"

Tyler pulled the paper off my desk. He scanned it, then handed it back to me, shaking his head. "That'sour Revolutionary War essay? I need to fix this up tonight."

I groaned. Exactly how I wanted to spend my Friday night. At home, working on a school project with Tyler.

The afternoon bell rang before I could protest. Tyler looked over his shoulder. "See you tonight!" and left the classroom. After he left, I felt a tap on my shoulder. "Aw, you two would make such a cute couple!"

I turned around. "Kris, he's my project partner, not my crush. He's a nerd, duh!" A nerd, yes. But a nice kid, who always had a smile on his face and would cheer you up. Especially when you have no idea how to do your project.

"Well, Erin said she'd do our project over the weekend, so I'm free. Wanna come to my house tonight?" "Can't; I've got to work on the stupid project." Kris flicked her long, blonde hair back over her shoulder. "Oh, that's ok. I'll just come over and watch TV or whatever. Your mom always has really good food." I rolled my eyes. "Whatever. Come by at, like, 7:30."

As I looked out the window on the bus ride home, I smiled. As much as I disliked the school project, I had a feeling tonight would be fun.

Little did I know…

"So, the battle at Saratoga was the turning point of the war, and then…"

Tyler was interrupted by a loud knocking on the door. My dog, Cinnamon, began to bark wildly, and I ran to the front door. I looked out the window and saw a soaking wet Kris, looking most unhappy.

"It's a hurricane out here! My hair is just ruined!" Kris groaned as she walked into my house, dripping on the floor. "Quick, put MTV on; NEXT is on!" "Actually, Kris, we're doing work…" It was no use. NEXT was already on, and Kris had flopped herself on the couch.

Kris, Tyler and I watched a pretty brunette chick get next'd by her would-be date, and after some lame obviously-scripted dissing, the credits began to roll. As we stood up to get some snacks, my little brother Matt came running in the room. "TV! Mine!"

Before I could stop him, he grabbed the remote and changed the channel. I screamed, "No, Matt!" but my yelling was drowned out by a huge rumble of thunder. The whole house shook with it, and Kris yelped. "I hate thunder!" "Actually," Tyler began, "thunder is just a sound made from the expanding and contr-" "I don't care! I hate thunder! Loud noises scare me!" Kris whined as she stuffed a Twinkie in her mouth.

"Really, Matt, we want to watch a big-person show," I coaxed him as Catscratch was ending. "We don't want to watch a cartoon." Matt stuck out his tongue. "Nope. I wanna watch Nick!"

Stupid seven-year-old. "Yeah, Matt, please?" Tyler tried. "Later, we can play air hockey downstairs, ok?"

Matt shook his head. By then, we had all come into the TV room, trying to convince Matt to hand over the remote.

Finally, I was fed up, and tried to grab it out of his hand. "C'mon, Matt! Let go!" "No!" Yes!" "No!" Kris grabbed onto my arm, and Tyler held Matt's shirt, pulling him off of me. I could barely touch the remote's 'last' button, constantly switching from MTV to some red and black cartoon. I was screaming at Matt when suddenly, there was a huge flash of lightning that illuminated the whole room.

And with a mighty roar of thunder, the power went out.

"Where are you, Melissa?" "Matt!" "Tyler?"

I groped around in the darkness looking for my cell phone to uses as a light, which I thought I had left on the coffee table, but the phone or the table was nowhere to be found. I then tried to find the wall, but either I was going crazy, or I couldn't find that either. Finally, I bumped in to a strawberry-scented mass of hair. "Kris! Do you have your cell phone?" "Yeah, hold on," Kris reached into her pocket and flipped open her pink RAZR.

I gasped.

We weren't in the TV room.

We weren't in my house.

"Where…are we?" Tyler stepped closer to Kris and I. "I have no idea." I replied back, and I looked around.

We were in some sort of cave, with rock walls and cold, damp air surrounding us. The only thing we could hear was water dripping and rain pounding off in the distance. "Matt? Where are you?" I called out, after realizing he hadn't said anything. No reply. I grabbed Kris' phone, instructed them not to move, and ran off into the darkness.

The sound of the rain was louder and louder, and I knew I was getting close to the outside. Finally, I came across a shadowed figure. "Matt?" I asked as I grabbed it. "Hey, Melissa check this out!" Matt pointed up to a shaft of light at the top of a rock. We climbed up, and peeked through the hole.

Despite the storm, the moon was able to peek through the clouds and cast light upon our surroundings. I looked around and had a sharp intake of breath.

We were awfully high up, with some trees and rocks well below us. I looked out over the distance and saw an immense forest with tall trees as far as the eye could see. But I couldn't see houses, buildings, or any other lights. I climbed off the rock and grabbed Matt. "Do you know where we are?" Matt shrugged. "Nope. I'm cold. And tired. I wanna sleep." He yawned. I was a little sleepy, too.

Holding his hand and using the cell's light, we trudged back down to where Kris and Tyler were. Kris was crying. "It's really dark and scary. I want to go home!" I sighed. "Well, we can't go anywhere when it's dark and stormy. We'll have to wait it out here for the night. Everyone, get comfy." Which was easier said than done, considering I had but a sweater and jeans, and not much to cover myself. Nevertheless, I curled up on the cold, hard ground and tried to close my eyes. Eventually, I was able to calm my mind enough to fall asleep.

"Good morning, Mr. Sunshine!"

Kris had shaken me awake. I rolled over and groaned. "Just five more minutes, mom… go make waffles…" Then, remembering where I was, I woke with a start. "Huh? Wha? Where are we?" Kris shrugged. "Couldn't tell you. In a cave…in the middle of nowhere…" I ran to the front of the cave, where rays of sunshine were now pouring through. I peeked out the hole once more. This time, I could see our surroundings more clearly.

We were in the middle of nowhere. No houses, no buildings… no nothing. Tyler came behind me. "So, I have a Twix bar and some Cap Stick. That's all the food we-" "TWIX!" Kris screamed as she pounced on poor Tyler. He was able to shake her off. "Come on, Kris. We have to keep our cool." "I'm STARVING!" Matt poked me. "I'm gonna go outside, ok?" I looked from him to the now bickering Kris and Tyler, and sighed. "Ok, I'll follow you."

We walked to the edge of the cave, where it was a very long drop to the bottom. There wasn't much in the way of exploring, so we just sat outside in the sun. Finally, Kris trudged out, looking deflated. "No Twix. Ugh," she threw herself down next to me. "Well, this is just great. We have no food, no water, no cell reception," she added that last part loudly as she flipped open her phone. "What is my mom gonna think about this?" "I'm sure we'll be fine," I assured her. She stood up. "Fine? FINE?! We are stuck in the middle of nowhere! So what are we supposed to do? Sunbathe? But hey, at least it's nice and peaceful and quiet, huh?!" She threw her hands up in the air.

Just then, there was a loud roar, and suddenly, a huge shadow covered us.

Kris looked up and screamed. "Holy-!"

And a huge…flying…hamster…landed right in front of us.

I must say, at that point, I had no idea what to do. We were lost and confused, and I was half-expecting it to be my imagination. I rubbed my eyes. Nope. Big, hairy thing still there.

Tyler came out to see what was the matter, while munching on the candy bar. When he saw the beast, he opened his mouth, but no words came out. Suddenly, I saw something move on top of the big thing.

It was a person!

"Hey! Hey! Come over here! We need HELP!" I yelled. Hopefully, this person could help us.

I looked up at the person, but their face was in the shadow of the sun. But they jumped down off the big thing and landed two feet in front of me.

Quite the peculiar person. It was a boy, maybe, what, 11? He was wearing yellow and orange clothes. And he was bald. And had some blue stuff on his head.

I raised an eyebrow. "Um…" was all I could say.

"Hi, you need help?" The boy asked in a friendly voice. Kris ran up behind me. "Yes, yes, please! We're lost, and hungry, and…what are you wearing?" she asked as she examined the kid. It was the boy's turn to be confused. "Just my cloak… and what are you wearing?" he asked, pointing to Kris' skinny jeans and Hollister hoodie. She was about to speak when someone else yelled, "Aang, are you ok?"

I looked up. Yet another person emerged from the hairy beast. This time, it was a girl, with a blue dress and long brown hair. She slid down the thing's side and walked up to me. "Hi, I'm Katara. Do you need help?" Kris giggled. "I feel bad for you. Katara? What kind of a name is that?" I stepped on Kris' toe. "Please excuse my stupid friend here. Yes, we need help. We seem to be…a bit lost. Where exactly are we?"

The boy thought for a moment. "Well, we've been flying for a few days, so I'd say… about a week from the Earth Kingdom border."

I coughed. "The wha?" "The Earth Kingdom." Kris rolled her eyes. "Sorry, but we're from America. We don't have kingdoms in democracy." Tyler came up. "I've never heard of the Earth Kingdom. Where's that?" The girl almost started chocking. "What? The Earth Kingdom? You've never… where did you say you were from?" "Asbury, New Jersey. Near the shore." "And I don't know where that is," the girl sighed. "Much help, aren't we?"

All this time, Matt had been staring wide-eyed, but never saying a word. Now, he tapped my shoulder. "Melissa, I know these people!" "Really?" I was surprised. "Where are they from?" "A TV show!" Matt said eagerly. I gasped. "Oh my gosh, we're on TV?! My hair probably looks really bad! This is a reality show? Wait, what…" "No, no. Not a reality show." I raised an eyebrow. "Well, what kind of show then?"

"It's a cartoon!"

Well, I just about lost it there. My eye started to twitch, my hands started shaking, and I began to sweat. A cartoon? But that's not possible! But, then again, how on earth did we get here…?

"Matt, wait, what's the show?" Matt's eyes gleamed. "It's called Avatar: The Last Airbender."

"The air-WHAT?" Kris barged in. "What are you guys talking about?" "Airbender," the boy offered. "See, look!" We all watched the boy as he unfolded some sort of bird-stick gliding thing. He jumped up, and grabbed on to the glider, and flew.

My jaw dropped. "Oh…my…" "WHOA!" Kris yelled. "What the heck? Now people are flying?" "And I'm a water bender," the girl said simply as she opened up a jar of water, moved her hand, and brought the water from the jar so it floated in the air. All I could do was stare.

By now, the boy had gotten on a floating ball of air and began riding it around. At this point, I had officially lost my sanity. "OK, someone PLEASE start explaining."

"Well," Matt tugged on my sleeve. "Aang and his friends have to go and save the world!" "Save the world?" I asked. "From what?"

And, just like that, there was a huge explosion in the distance. A whole section or forest burst into flame, and the fire began to spread like…wildfire. Nice simile.

The boy and girl cringed, then yelled, "THEM!"

I didn't care that I was about to ride on a flying hamster. I didn't care these people were freaks. I just wanted to get away before "them" came.

All four of us loaded onto the beastie and held on for dear life. Suddenly, we lifted from the ground. And began flying. My head was spinning. I was afraid to fly on airplanes; this would not be pleasant.

I looked around. There were two others that I hadn't seen before. A boy, maybe 16 or so, was sitting in the corner of the little boxy thing on the giant hamster, and a young girl with a very creepy look on her face. "Well, I can't imagine you can fight, so lay low while we take care of 'em!" The boy yelled back to us. I obeyed. I lay down as flat as I could and covered my eyes. Eventually, the roar of the fire became quieter, and when I opened my eyes, I could see we were above the clouds.

I sighed and sat up. I looked over at the older boy. "So, um…hi?" I offered. The boy looked at me with shock. "Who are you?" "Sokka, we picked up these kids. They're lost." the blue girl said to him. "How do you know they're not spies? Are they good?" The creepy girl said, but she didn't look at us. Or anything. Creepy much. "Toph, don't be so mean! They have no idea what's going on; I think they might be sick or something."

"Hey!" Kris yelled, pointing a finger at the girl. "We are perfectly sane, thank you. YOU are they crazy ones, with flying and getting attacked and stuff!" I kicked Kris' shin. "Shut up! They might be our only chance."

I took a deep breath and smiled at the older girl, who seemed to be the one in charge. "Well, we are actually lost, but we have no idea about any of the things you are describing. I think the first question is: where are we?"

"Actually," Tyler stepped over to the two of us, "I think the question is: when are we?"

My eyes narrowed. "What? What kind of a question is-" "Look," Tyler continued, obviously annoyed by my stupidity, "these people don't know where New Jersey is. We don't know where their kingdom is. They are dressed in very old-style clothing and don't have any kinds of technology. There are no big cities, no airplanes," he pointed out, as we looked up and saw nothing else in the sky, "just about nothing that would indicate even the 20th century. Unless we stumbled upon some sort of cult, (which I highly doubt) these people are from a different time."

It takes a genius to tell us we're in a different dimension.

"Great, great. This is just great!" Kris hollered, throwing her arms in the air, "We're in the past with a bunch of magic people in a war without phones or Internet and no way home!"

"It doesn't have to be all that bad," the bald kid, who I think was named Yang, said to us. "You can travel with us for a while, and we'll help you get home, ok?" I peeked at him through my hands and sniffled. "Ok, but I don't want to die." "Oh, you won't have any chance of that, no…" the creepy girl named Tuff yelled to us, then laughed.

She was very muchly starting to annoy me.

"Look, it's getting a little dark," Soccer, the boy, stood up. "We should make camp soon. I'm sure we've lost them by now."

As we were descending, I turned to the girl. "Cattera, who exactly are 'they'?" The girl sighed. "It's Katara. And 'they' are the Fire Nation princess and her two little friends out to get us." I gulped. "Fire Nation? Sounds… scary." Katara's head drooped. "You have no idea."

The conversation ended awkwardly, so all I could do was stay silent until we landed and began unpacking. "Katara, can you get us some water?" Sockman asked her. I sprang up, tired of sitting all day. "Oh, do you need my help, too?" "Well, you can go find some blue and red berries. They'll be nice and juicy."

My stomach growled. "Sounds good to me." "What about me?" Kris yelled from the furry beast. "I can help!" Sockie shifted. "Um… you can…get some sticks." Kris' shoulders slumped. "Aw, why do I get stuck with the boring jobs?" "Because," Tyler said, putting a hand on her shoulder. "You are incompetent of doing anything else."

Not too far away, there was a rustling in the bushes. Someone was in there. Waiting for an opportunity.

For ambush.

Suddenly, the roar of a huge machine could be heard. A massive black tank rolled through the forest, a red flame emblem on the front. Unfortunately, the forest was particularly thick at this point, and the tank had to maneuver around trees and rocks. The perfect time to strike.

When the machine was at a virtual stand-still, a shadowed figure leaped from the bushes and flung a fiery ball of flames at the front of the tank. It shook the tank, nearly tipping it over. But it kept upright, much to the attacker's disappointment. But before they could strike again, a door opened from the side of a tank, and a ramp lowered to the ground.

A girl dressed in red stepped out first, followed by two other girls, one with a long robe, and the other with a shorter skirt. The first girl stepped closer to the now visible assailant. He was a little older than her, with a green-brown outfit and a huge scar on his face…

The girl gave a nasty grin. "You do disappoint me, Zuzu…"

"Stupid magical freaks, thinking I'm stupid or something," Kris grumbled to herself as she trudged through the dense forest. "I'm smart! I might not show it like Tyler, but I can do-" she stopped short.

She could hear someone else other than herself. Someone breathing heavily.

"Wh-who's there?" she called out shakily. No one replied. She stepped to the side a little, trying to move away from the noise. She backed up a little more, then, there was a muffled groan.

She turned around, looking where she's stepped.

There was someone there!

He was lying on the ground, crumpled up. He mumbled something: "Yrnmhnd" Kris bent down. "What?"

"You're on…my hand…" the boy groaned. Kris gasped, then moved her foot. "Oh, oh, sorry… what's wrong? Are you hurt?" she examined him. His clothes were tattered, he was muddy, and he had what looked like burn marks on his skin. "Look, I've got friends that will fix you up a little. But it's kinda far away… oh, well. I can drag you there!"

Kris grabbed his legs and pulled him, blabbing her entire story of who she was, why she was here. He might have replied, had it not been for the recurring bumps and rocks on the ground that he frequently rolled over.

We were about to start a fire when Kris came running toward us. "Guys! Guys! Um, I found a dude! He's hurt!" she yelled, pointing to the woods. We all hurried over to see who the mysterious 'dude' was.

Matt and I got there first. I looked at the poor boy who was lying on the ground. He was covered in dirt and grass, and he had a pained look on his face. "I dragged him all the way from the forest," Kris said proudly. I kicked her. "What's wrong with you? Dragging him? You probably made him feel worse." Kris said something, but I couldn't hear her. Matt tugged on my shirt. "I've seen him before, too! He's-"

"Zuko?! Holy cowpig, run for your lives!" Sockie yelled as he ran away. Aang ran over. "Zuko? Where?" he said, holding his kite-thing out like a sword. "Told you these people were trouble," Tuff said as she came over to us. Kris put her hands on her hips. "You people are over-reacting. Can't you see he's in no shape to do anything?" she asked, pointing to him. "No," Tuff said plainly.

Kris' face turned red. "What, are you blind?"

"Yep," Tuff said, without a hint of sarcasm.

Kris was silent for a moment, then backed off. "Oh. Oh, um… well…"

Awkward moment. "Well, we should still get rid of him. SOKKA WOULD YOU SHUT UP?" Katara called to Sokka, who was still running around like a chicken with its head cut off.

Kris pouted her lips. "Aw, do we have to? Can't we keep him? I'm sure with a litle TLC, he'll be back on his feet and thankful for our help. Then, maybe he won't try to kill us!"

Katara coughed what sounded like Mary-Sue! "No, he's pretty much evil to the core. We have to put a safe distance between him and us. Any plans?"

"Well…" I thought, tapping my chin.

Zuko awoke when he felt something poking at his side. He opened his eyes groggily. But as soon as he realized where he was, he jerked awake. He was sitting in a bed of twigs and grass, and staring up at a huge lizard bird, with large, beady eyes. "What the-" he screamed, as the giant creature opened its mouth…

"I still think we should have been nice," Kris pouted. "No way. Him and his sister, man, they are pretty evil." "Why?" I asked, because hey, I've never watched the show. How would I know?"

So, as we flew away on the giant 'bison,' (who I still think looked like an overgrown hamster) the four tried to explain to us their situation.

There had been a big war going on for a while, and the big mean Fire Nation was going to take over the world. But then, Avatar Aang comes along and stops a whole bunch of bad guys with the help of his friends. So then Zuko is chasing them, and his sister Azula is chasing them, and the Fire Nation is chasing them, and then many assorted groups of people are also on the hunt. And Aang has to learn how to do fire magic (fire bending, I believe they called it) before some big comet comes and the Fire Nation takes over the world.

"Ug," Kris sighed. "Couldn't we have been sucked in to some cooler show, like Laguna Beach or something?"

"Quite extraordinary," Tyler was saying, pushing back his glasses. "This world has highly-evolved plant life and new species of animals!"

"'Lissa," Matt whined, "I'm tired. I'm hungry. And I have to go to the bathroom…"

"Would you shut that kid up?" Toph yelled, pointing at Matt. "If we were on the ground…"

"Hey guys, let's go to that town down there!" Aang pointed.

My head was about to explode. Everyone was talking, I was tired and confused, and, worst of all, I was homesick. I had memories of home…

…"Mommy, look at the pretty shells!" a young Melissa smiled up at her mother. Carrie-Sue crouched down and inspected the pearly-white clam shells. She held one up and felt it, cool and smooth. "Can you imagine that these shells could have come from thousands of miles away? The ocean currents can take things from far-away places." "Like a message in a bottle?" the little girl asked, inquisitively. Carrie-Sue nodded. "Yep. You can write to someone, anyone, from anywhere in the world, anytime…"

Now, riding in a flying buffalo with magical kids in a different dimension, Melissa wondered if her words would keep true. But she doubted sending a message in a bottle would ever reach her mother. Her friends. Home.

It was late at night, and everyone had just settled down in their blankets and pillows under the starry sky. Kris, who wasn't the least bit tired, turned to Toph, who was sitting right next to her. "Hey, I'm sorry for what I said today. I mean, I didn't know…" "It's fine," Toph said, rolling over to face Kris. "I get that all the time. It's no walk in the park, being blind. But," she continued, rusting her sheets as she sat up. "it has its perks. In fact, I can see better than most people."

Kris was confuzzled. This kid is obviously crazy. "But…" she started. "I know, I know. I'm blind. You're stupider than I thought. But, it's true. I can see people, what they are feeling, understanding, that kind of things."

Kris shifted uneasily. This kid keeps getting creepier. "I can tell about you, Kris," Toph said, her unseeing eyes faced right at Kris, "You're upset. Worried. I can feel it in your heartbeat. What's wrong?"

"Oh, nothing, nothing…" Kris whispered, rolling back under her blanket, hoping Toph would leave her alone. When she heard nothing for a minute, she relaxed, and tried to sleep.

It's true; she was worried. Not only the fact that they were in a TV show in a different dimension with people controlling elements, but something much deeper. As odd as the scenario was, it seemed vaguely familiar, like a dream. She had heard this story once before. She strained her memory to remember from where, but it was impossible. Eventually, Kris was able to get some sleep.

Meanwhile, Tyler was wide awake, and itching to talk to one of these magical teens privately. He was eager to learn more; it was his nature to ask questions. He looked around, seeing if anyone was still awake. He found a sleeping bag to be empty. He got out of his own blankets and walked over to a short, shadowed figure by the edge of the cliff.

It was Aang.

"What are you doing up?" Tyler asked him. Aang, without turning around, replied, "I've just been thinking. You guys don't know what the Fire Nation is or anything about the war." Then, he faced Tyler, his eyes wide. "Does this mean they lost? They were defeated? We won?" He said it with such eagerness. Tyler shifted uneasily. "That, or…" "Or what?" Aang nearly jumped. "Or… you actually don't exist, and you are just figments of our imaginations," he explained. "What? That's crazy. Of course I'm real!" Aang said, tugging at his skin. "Or, possibly… well, you're not going to want to hear this," Tyler began nervously. "What?" Aang asked. "Well, when you tried to beat the Fire King" "Fire Lord," Aang corrected. "Yes, that," Tyler continued, "something went terribly wrong, and you…destroyed the entire human race, wiping out all the benders and traces of bending."

Aang's jaw dropped. "What?! That has got to be the stupidest thing I've ever heard!" Tyler put his hands up defensively. "Whoa whoa whoa! I never said that's what happened…" Tyler would have gone on if it had not been for the shrill cry coming from the camp.

"What the-" Aang yelled as he unfolded his glider. Tyler also ran over to where they had been sleeping. They arrived to find Melissa frantic. "Matt's gone! He was just beside me a moment ago…" Sokka patted her on the back. "I'm sure we can find him. Aang, can you search overhead? Toph, you can-" "Wait!" Toph said suddenly, stopping everyone in their tracks. "I'm feeling something!" she whispered as she bent down and touched the ground. "What the heck is she talking about?" Kris asked. "I can feel vibrations in the ground," Toph explained, "and there's something huge coming this way!"

I was overcome with fear. Were those three Fire Nation girls coming for them? Something else, something worse? And where was Matt?

"Melissa and the rest of you, stay right here. We'll fend them off. Matt will probably come back; we just have to hope that-" Before Katara could finish, there was a sudden crash in the woods, and smoke emerged from the treetops. Kris grabbed on to my hand. "Hold me!" she cried. But my mind was racing. "Wait, I think I know where Matt might be!" Earlier, Matt had gone to the edge of a little creek, trying to find fish and frogs. Holding on to Kris' hand, I dashed over to the creek. Franticly, we searched around, looking for my little brother. Then, Kris yelled to me, "Melissa! He's over here!"

Relieved, I ran to Matt's side and hugged him. "What on earth were you doing over here, Matt? Our friends are in trouble!" Matt simply smiled. "I was just practicing my water bending!" I raised an eyebrow, and I was about to ask what he meant when there was a huge booming sound, and the night sky was illuminated in red and orange lights. My heart sank. What had happened?

We dashed over to the camp. Then, I saw them.

There was a girl, a little older than I, with jet black hair and a beastly face. She was shooting what looked like blue fire from simply her hands. Aang and Katara were dodging the flames, and when they could, they would fire back a gust of air or a water whip. At first, I was mesmerized, but then, I heard Matt give a yelp. "My foot! I tripped on a rock and I can't move my foot!" Tyler quickly ran over to him and tried to help him up, but there was no use. Matt couldn't walk.

My head began to spin. Those blue flames kept getting brighter and brighter…

But before I could move, I hear a whisper from behind me. "Over here! Bring him here!"

I turned, but saw nothing but a huge bush surrounded by rocks. Again, I heard the voice call out, "Quickly, before she comes any closer!" That convinced me just fine, and I motioned for Tyler to drag a hobbling Matt over to the bush.

We crawled in and looked around. The bush was hollow, and the inside was almost like a tent. There was a figure huddled in the middle, and it reached out a hand. "It's ok, son. Just rest your ankle here." Matt cautiously stuck his left leg out to the man, and he held it. He reached into his robe and pulled out a bottle and emptied the liquid onto his injury. Matt winced, and Tyler asked, "What's that?"

"Special water, mixed with herbs and tea leaves," the old man spoke with wisdom. "That will repair the cuts, but the leg will have to be elevated. He must rest here for now."

"But," I began, motioning outside to where the battle was still raging on, "what about our friends?"

"We watch," the man sighed. "and we wait."

Kris was frantic. She couldn't find Melissa or Tyler anywhere; they'd seemed to have disappeared. All she could do was run around in the woods, and duck occasionally every time she'd hear a blast.

Aang, on the other hand, was a bit preoccupied. Azula was showing no mercy (when had she ever?) with her lightning blue attacks. The same was true with Ty Lee and Mai, who would come at him, Toph and Katara when he least expected it.

Azula had just slashed a particularly strong blast of blue flame when Aang felt himself back into a huge, cold stone. He looked around and saw that everything behind him was solid rock and trees, and everything in front of him was fire-flinging. They had been cornered.

Azula stood up, gave a nasty smile and muttered, "Goodbye, Avatar!" But just then, something in the corner of Aang's eye caught his attention…

Kris could only watch in horror as the three girls backed the three benders into a corner. She covered her eyes when the leader girl reared for her mortal attack when she heard something flash by.

A giant birdlike creature swooped down upon the three fire-girl-people, knocking them to the ground. Then, Kris saw that there was someone riding the bird.

That kid she found in the forest.

Zuko!

"Dive, Bessie, dive!" he called, and for a second time, the feathered beast pecked at the girls, sending them scrambling. "Told you he's on our side!" Kris said to herself, proud that she had such good judgment.

But then, the boy hopped off, and launched a torrent of flames onto little Aang.

"Oops… my bad," Kris sighed. She decided to go find Melissa and the boys

"You think you have me now, don't you, you child?" Azula was taunting Aang, who had just blown her down with a mighty gust of wind. "I try," Aang said, with a sly grin. Azula winced, then reared back for a devastating blow. But then, there was a flash of light behind her, and a stream of icy water shot right past her face, slicing her bang in half. Azula glared over to Katara, who was ready for another icy attack.

Azula surveyed her surroundings. It appeared as though her other two comrades weren't faring any better, with Ty Lee and that dude with a ponytail caught in a fierce battle, and Mai certainly had had her hands full with the little earthbender girl. Her driving instincts told her to keep her fight; her gut told her they were outmatched, and needed some more leverage.

She also spied a girl she'd never seen before. She was wearing strange clothing, and had oddly yellow hair. She seemed to be with the Avatar and his friends, and she also looked particularly weak.

That's when it clicked.

"C'mon, girls. Get back to the tank. We'll attack tomorrow with a new tactic."

Mai ran to the machine, but Ty Lee cried, "Aw, we were just staring to have fun!"

Azula rolled her eyes and sighed. "Fun? What's the meaning of this word, 'fun'? Get over here before we drive away." Ty Lee's shoulders slumped, but she slinked over to the tank anyway.

I watched as the battle raged on. But Tyler had his narrow eyes on the old man. Eventually, the man asked him, "And what's got you upset, young man?" Tyler's voice was flat. "That 'medicine' or your was hardly efficient. It's a primitive concoction, and I really fail to see a feasible explanation of-" "You're skeptic," the man was frank. He motioned to Matt, who was now starting to doze. "Sometimes, the best things in life are the simplest. And," he smiled, "it doesn't hurt to tell the boy that it will help; he'll be more reassured and relaxed."

I glanced over to Matt. He did seem less traumatized, and after almost a day of sleeplessness, he was exhausted. "Matt," I asked slowly. "When you said that you were practicing your…um…water bending…" At this all eyes were on him, even the old man, who raised a bushy eyebrow.

Matt blushed. "Oh, yeah, I was kidding about that. I saw Katara doing it, and I thought that maybe I could try. So I went to the stream and kicked and punched at the water, but…" he grinned sheepishly.

The old man gave a hearty laugh. "Almost reminds me of my own son," the man said, his voice slightly cracking at the end. I swore I saw a tear in his eye.

I was about to venture further when I realized the noise outside had stopped. I peeked out through a hole in the bushes. Sure enough, there was no sign of the girls or the huge tank that they were traveling in. I would have jumped out then and there, but there was someone walking over to the backside of the bush.

"Uncle! Who are these people?"

It was that boy!

"The boy was hurt, he needed help-" "They're the enemy, Uncle! They're with the Avatar!" he said the name with disgust. I could see the anger in his face.

"Prince Zuko, all your life you've only cared about one person: yourself. When are you going to start being-" "Enough!" the Zuko dude screamed, flames shooting from his hands. I jumped. Anger issues much?

He turned to Matt, then me. "Out! Get out, before I change my mind."

As fast as I could, I got me and my butt out of there, Tyler close behind, carrying a now wide-awake Matt on his back.

We ran from the bush and into the clearing, where the remainder of the camp was. Aang was sitting there, along with the other three. "We beat 'em!" Aang was saying proudly. "They had to run! But let 'em run; they'll think twice about messing with us next time." "Did you see me back there?" Sokka gloated. "I had that chick all tied up, she couldn't stop me!" Katara rolled her eyes. "Yes, because you and your adorable ponytail had her mesmerized the whole time."

The only one not talking was Toph. "I don't know, guys. I still think we've forgotten something…"

That's when it hit me.

"Hey, guys?" I suddenly called out, my heart beating quickly now.

"Where's Kris?"

Sitting in a dark, hot room, Kris was terrified. It had all happened so fast: being grabbed from behind, getting poked so that she couldn't move, being dragged into the giant tank, and tossed into this room. She sat there in the silence, trembling, until the door opened.

"Hello," the scary, mean fire girl said.

Kris squealed.

"I hope you don't mind your, er, room," the girl said, walking toward Kris. "My name's Princess Azula, and-" "Princess?" Kris asked, wide-eyed. "You mean, like, royalty?" "Yes, like royalty…" Azula rolled her eyes. "Wow! So you're like rich and famous then?" Azula wanted to slap this girl. But that's not part of the plan, she reminded herself. "Yes, and also very influential," Azula continued. "My friends and I were just in the middle of trying to stop a vicious rebellion of-" "Rebellion?" Kris piped up. "But the Avatar is saving the world from evil!" "So he wants you to think," she said, coming and sitting on the ground next to the girl. "He's actually leading a bunch of renegades trying to thwart out plan. We are trying to rid the world of people who want to rise above the others and be better than other people."

Kris cocked her head. "But isn't that a good thing?"

Azula gave her best attempt at a mournful sigh. "Once again, what they want you to think. But in reality, people who were so rich would take advantage of the little people, and they would get too greedy and powerful. We think that people should be equal, and everyone should be their own boss. All people should be equal, and no one should have the right to be treated better than anyone else just because they are rich and powerful!"

Kris was shaken. This chick really knows what she's talking about. Even though Kris didn't quite understand everything this princess had just said, she sounded very convincing.

"So," Kris took a deep breath, "if the Avatar is wrong, and you have to get rid of him, what's going to happen to my friends? They still think he's a good guy." Kris' pleading eyes stared up to the princess'. "Please. I just want to get my friends back and go home."

Azula patted her on her shoulder. "Don't worry, we will."

But as she turned to walk out of the room, Azula smiled menacingly to herself.

This was going to be easier than I thought.

I sat at the edge of the stream. I stared into the rushing water below me, and I wish I could follow it, flowing away, away from here, from the troubles and the-

"Hey, Melissa! I have an idea!"

I jerked. Tyler had interrupted my thoughts of gloom and misery,

I sighed. "What? Will it get us out of here?"

"Of course," Tyler laughed. "All we have to do is find a pair of ruby slippers, clap our heels three times, and-" "Tyler! That's not funny. I really thought you would help," I pouted. "I don't know if you realize the severity of this. Kris is lost; Matt's ankle might be broken; we're trapped in another dimension, and," I threw my arms in the air, "My mom has no idea where I am! How am I supposed to explain this to her? You think she'd believe me?" I let out a roar or frustration and laid down in the grass behind me, staring up at the burning noon sun.

Tyler joined me in the grass. "Melissa," he began, his voice suddenly softer, "I'm sorry we got into this. But we can get out. Because I know you like that, and if you put your mind to it, Melissa Norman," his voice dropped to a whisper, and he leaned in close to me, "you can do anything."

And just like that, he planted a soft kiss on my cheek.

I went numb.

I had just been kissed.

Kissed!

What should I do now? My mind raced. Do I kiss back? Do I thank him? Do I …

"Um, well, Tyler, I have to go… check…Matt…" I stammered, as I hurried myself up from the grass.

Smooth move, Melissa. My face went red as a beet as I quickly walked over to Matt, who was lying next to Aang under a tree.

"Is he doing any better?" I asked nervously. Aang looked up at me and shrugged. "I can tell you one thing: I have an idea. KATARA!" he screamed, causing me to nearly fall over.

Katara came rushing over. "What?" she panted. "Are you ok?" Aang grinned. "Nope, just knew you'd get here faster. Hey, do you think you could make with the water-healing-spiel with Matt?" Katara slapped her forehead. "And I didn't think of that why?"

I raised an eyebrow. "Water-healing? Hydrotherapy? I don't see how this is going to-" But right before my eyes, Katara whipped out some water from her little necklace thing, and brought it to Matt's ankle. The water glowed, and then seemed to sink in to Matt's puffy foot. After a few seconds, she brought the water back into her vial, and Matt rubbed his now much-less-purple foot. "It feels…better!" He exclaimed, as he moved his ankle to and fro.

I was speechless. "Wow, I wish we had water benders in our world…" and, with a chuckle, I added, "That worked a lot better than that old guys' herbs and stuff, huh Matt?"

"Old guy?" Katara put her hands on her hips. "What old guy?"

I shrugged. "That old guy that was in the bushes over there. He gave Matt some herb-ish stuff, and then the kid with the scar came in and was all like," I huffed up my chest and dropped my voice lower, "Uncle, they're the enemy, they're with the Avatar blah blah blaaaaah!"

Aang sprang up. "Zuko? And Iroh? Were over there the whole time? And they didn't try to ambush me or whatever?" Aang ht his head against the tree numerous times. "What is HAPPENING?"

June DiMarini had her cell phone turned off and her computer on stand-by. She closed her blinds, switched off her lava lamp, and flipped on her small television in her room. Picking up the root beer float she had made earlier, she slumped into the bean bag chair in front of the TV and switched to channel 56.

Ah, just how I want to spend my Friday night.

In front of the TV.

Her heart almost skipped as beat as the clock next to her turned 8 o'clock. She squirmed in her seat. It was time.

New episode of Avatar!

It was her guilty pleasure, really. She wouldn't be caught dead talking about it at school, at art class, online. No way would that be cool, gabbing about 'some Nick cartoon.' And an anime, nonetheless!

But it was just so good! Not only was the animation superb, but the plots had twists and turns comparable to that of prime time network shows. June couldn't get enough of it, chatting endlessly online about it with Jake from Ohio, doodling characters, and even daydreaming about her being a bender. If only…

As she stared wide-eyed, taking in every detail, the episode started just as all had; so far, nothing special. But about five minutes into it, June found something rather peculiar. Four new characters had just appeared, and things started getting unusual after that.

First off, they all looked rather modern, and talked with slang. And she could have sworn the one girl was named Marissa. The blond one instantly annoyed her to no end, and the dark-skinned boy struck her as a bit of a brainy type, and the little boy was cute. But the girl, 'Marissa,' or whatever, was her favorite. She was funny, likeable, and had some witty lines.

Funny, June laughed. To herself. She almost reminds me of Melissa. She even looked like her best friend.

June took a loud slurp of the root beer float and continued to watch the episode.

"It's almost sad, really," Azula was explaining to the other girls. "That girl actually believed me! She really is gullible." "I don't know, Azula," Ty Lee said as she lay on the bed. "I kinda like her. She reminds me of…me!" Mai rolled her eyes. "Oh, wonderful. Two Ty Lees…" "You say that like it's a bad thing, Mai!" Ty Lee pouted.

"Quit bickering, you two. We need to devise our plan," Azula laid out the parchment, setting up her writing tools.

But behind her, there was an eavesdropper. Someone who had been sitting there outside the doorway this whole time.

"NOW who's the stupid one?" Kris chuckled to herself. "Way to leave my door unlocked, you crazed princess."

Kris listened as Azula dictated her plan. They were to attack at dawn. First rounding up the bison and lemur, then Ty Lee was to disable the earthbender girl and the water tribe boy, and Mai would pin the water bender to a tree. Azula would take the Avatar herself.

"What about those other kids they picked up?" Mai asked. Azula shrugged. "They can't be of harm or use to us. We'll probably just take them prisoner."

"And what about the one we already have?" Ty Lee piped up.

Azula gave a nasty grin. "I saw a cliff not too far from here…" The room erupted in laughter.

Kris squealed.

Abruptly, the laughing stopped. "What was that?" Mai asked. Azula stormed from the table to the doorway, causing Kris to scramble out of the way, behind another ajar door.

She sat perfectly still, hardly breathing. When all was quiet, Kris let out a sigh of relief.

And then, there was a huge torrent of flames that barely missed her face. Kris looked up in horror and came face to face with a scowling Azula.

"You little-"

Kris didn't have time to think. She shut her eyes and brought up her right arm and aimed a punch right at the princess.

She never made contact.

It took less than a second. Kris' heart sank as she realized that after the princess dodged her blow, she would be blasted with flames, and that was that. She kept her eyes closed and braced herself for the final impact.

For a moment, there was silence.

Terrified, Kris opened her right eye. She thought she was dreaming.

There was Azula, temporarily stunned, on the opposite end of the hallway.

Kris stared momentarily, utterly confused. I must have been numb with fear, Kris reasoned, as she scrambled to her feet and ran as fast as she could away from the now-stirring Azula.

Before Ty Lee and Mai could come, Kris was out of sight. Ty Lee rushed to the princess' side. "Did you just see that?" she asked, amazed.

Azula clenched her fists, erupting in a fiery blast of rage.

"She didn't, she couldn't have…"

Mai said simply, "Well, that was a bit unexpected."

Azula finally stood up, her jaw tight and her eyes bright with anger.

"This is going to be harder that I thought."

I breathed in a deep sigh as I stared at Tyler's back, his black outline in contrast to the blazing red setting sun. I was playing ping-pong in my mind about what I should do: like him, hate him, like him, hate him… it was a vicious cycle.

My legs moving without my consent, I quietly walked over and sat next to Tyler and leaned against the tree next to him. "Hey, look, Tyler, I-" "It's ok, Melissa," he began, not even looking at me. "I understand, I'm not cool enough for you. Too nerdy, it's fine…"

I wanted to slap him, hug him, reassure him, scream at him. I chose a more civilized manner. "Tyler, you have got to be one of the most amazing people I know," I couldn't help but smile. "You overcome so much, I mean, you completely break the stereotype," "Yeah, the only African-American kid in the Math Club and the Spelling Bee," he said sheepishly. "Exactly," I said, giving him a genuine smile. "And through all this, you've stayed calm and cool, and never once spazzed out like the rest of us," I patted him on the back. "You know what, Tyler Darnell Higgins? You're pretty amazing."

Behind them, Kris was streaking through the woods and brush, creating as much distance from her and the princess as possible. The past two or three minutes had all been a blur, really, and she was beginning to think she imagines all that.

As she ran, the bushes got less dense, and she could see a clearing in front of her. Then, she could hear voices. Smiling, she burst through the last layer of bushes and found…

"Melissa? And Tyler?" Kris almost screamed.

"Kris!" I yelled back. "You got away!"

"And you were kissing Tyler!" she shot back.

"So? You're safe!"

"So, I leave you for 2 hours, and you go and do something like this?"

"Kris! Yes, ok, we kissed. But you! You're back! And safe! And not barbecued!"

Kris actually stopped screaming as she watched Aang and the rest of them rush over. They were just as shocked to see Kris as I was. "What happened to you, Kris?"

Kris smiled slyly and leaned her back against the tree. "Funny you should ask, Arrowdude…"

So, of course, I had to sit down through Kris' long-winded (and surely exaggerated) story of her captivity and escape.

"So of course, they had me locked up in a max-security cell," she was explaining. "Can't take any chances with me. So, Princess Azula comes in with this "we're the good guys, avatar is the bad guys, we're spreading the everyone-is-equal-should-work-for-the-betterment-of-the-population" story, and-" "Aha," Tyler chuckled. "So Fire Nation Princess is a Red!" "Yeah, she was wearing red…" Kris said flatly. Tyler shook his head, "No, not that, I mean… never mind. Just… get on with the story." "Okay," Kris shrugged. "So anyway, after I busted myself out, I spied on them in their planning of evil deeds," Kris continued, now using hand gestures to elaborate. "Then, all of a sudden, Azula jumps out at me, flinging fire across my face, just barely missing me! And when she thought she had me cornered," Kris crouched down, re-creating the scene, "I gave her a blow to the head!"

"Wait," Toph said out of nowhere. "You actually punched Azula?"

Kris' cheeks became red. "Well, sure, um…" "I can tell you're lying!" Toph wagged a finger at Kris. Her shoulders slumped. "Ok, so I didn't punch her, but I did knock her out."

"How'd you manage to do that?" Sokka asked, now interested in the conversation. "Well, it's a bit hard to explain…" "Go on, Kris!" I begged her. "Ok, I guess…" she sighed, and continued the story.

"I closed my eyes and I tried to punch her. But I missed, and then I knew I was done for. But when I opened my eyes," Kris' voice became a whisper. "There she was, Azula, crumpled up on the other side of the room, dazed. She was knocked down, all right. I had hit her. But I have no idea with what."

Kris, who seemed sincerely confused, snapped back into her normal Krisness and shrugged. "Oh, well, I guess she was just so scared, when I came at her, she jumped back and had the wind knocked out of her,"

"Or," Aang jumped in out of nowhere. "she had the wind knocked into her."

All were silent, including me.

Even Kris cocked her head, confused, but said nothing. Then, Toph called out, "What are you sayin' Twinkletoes?"

Aang's eyes were wide as he explained. "Don't you see? Kris here punched at Azula, but never made contact, and yet she was knocked down, incapacitated. Something must have hit her, and Kris was the only one there," he glanced over at Kris, who gave a nod in approval. "And if Kris didn't make contact with her hand, what else could she have possibly hit her with?"

Once again, all were silent, until finally Kris was fed up with it. "What are you trying to tell me, Airboy?"

"I'm trying to tell you," Aang roared, taking all of us aback, "that I might not be the only airboy around here anymore!"

"You're calling me a BOY?" Kris screamed at him.

"NO," Aang's face was red with yelling and frustration. "I'm calling you an AIRBENDER!"

It was that feeling again. That feeling I got when Steve Yosham dared me to eat that soggy banana, that feeling when I couldn't eat solid foods with that stomach bug, that feeling of realizing the man you've been calling 'dad' is only you stepdad.

Oh, yeah.

Sick.

Kris' face went pale. Everything was dead silent. The only thing you could hear was the soft rustling of the leave blowing in the breeze.

Kris was the first to speak. "So… you're saying…I'm…magic?" her voice was very small.

"Not magic; bending!" Aang corrected, but it wasn't the most strategic move. Kris' mouth suddenly contorted with rage. "Oh, excuse me, BENDING! No, not magic, magic is make-believe, no, bending is REAL! Of course! Because all this is REAL, what am I thinking? I'M a bender, YOU'RE a bender, MELISSA'S a bender," I felt a pang of fear as she pointed to me. "Heck, we're ALL benders! Let's have a bending PARTY! Where all these BENDERS will come and practice their BENDING, and we'll all be happy BENDERS living happily ever after!"

A squirming Matt spoke for the first time. "Can I come to the party?"

I pinched him, "Matt, she was kidding…"

"Well," Tyler stepped in, "I think there is only one way to solve this dilemma: Kris, you're going to do it again." "Psh, no way am I going back there-" "No! I mean, punch the air thing." "Oh…"

Kris took a karate-like stance and faced Tyler. "So, you're gonna be Azula, ok?" "Me?" Tyler shrieked. "I can't evade an attack like that? Why-" But before he could finish, Kris reared up, clenched her first, and grunted, giving a good punch to the air in front of her.

Everyone gasped.

Absolutely nothing happened.

BR 

"Well, that was kinda pointless," Kris shrugged. She pointed at Aang and grinned. "Look who's laughing now, Airboy!" "I'm still skeptic," Aang mumbled.

After an awkward silence, Sokka spoke up. "Hey, um Kris? About Azula's whole evil-plan-thing?" "Yeah, um, they're coming at dawn."

"Dawn! That gives us time to hop on Appa, fly about a few miles, then-" "Wait," I interrupted, as he began rolling up his sleeping bag. "We're not just going to run away, are we?" "Uh, yeah, actually, we are," Kris rolled her eyes. "But that doesn't solve our problems! They'll just come after us again, and then a vicious cycle of running, chasing, running… don't you see? You can't run from your fears!"

"Thanks for that riveting speech," Sokka was saying as he packed away his bag, "but-" "No, Sokka, she's right," Aang said, coming to my defense. "The princess will just keep coming, and we can't stop her unless we face her ourselves."

Sokka looked from me to Aang to his bag, then back to Aang again. Finally, his shoulders slumped, and he mumbled, "Alright, alright… facing our fears, digging our own graves…"

Toph came up behind me and said quietly, "Just remember, weirdo, you're the one who didn't want to die…"

As I stood behind the huge boulder, my heart pounded. This was it.

The sky was gradually turning orange, then pink, then red. Kris, who was standing next to me, had her log in her hands, and I was holding a few rocks. Tyler had been posted up on a ledge in the walls of the canyon as lookout, and Matt, too small and weak to do anything, had been carried a safe distance away on Appa.

There was no escape from this.

The sky sharply turned a bright yellow as a sliver of sunlight appeared on the horizon. As I watched it come up, I thought I heard the grinding of large wheels. My stomach flipped.

Aang, glider in hand, was standing on top of the rock, Katara just below him, next to the stream. Toph was situated just behind a large tree, ready for a sneak attack. Sokka was up on a ledge also, prepared for an ambush.

I had to squint into the sun to see the smoke now rising from ahead of us. Surely it was the girls.

I gulped. Here goes nothing. I felt like Jack Sparrow in front of the Kraken at the end of POTC2: about to be swallowed up.

And then I remembered: they can't kill Johnny Depp, can they?

So I'll be fine, right?

Right?

Then, there was a huge fireball rising above the trees and aimed at our direction. Aang and Katara were able to jump on it, Aang thrusting a blast of air through the middle, and Katara doused it with her jet stream. Then, another fireball came, then two, then three, and Aang found himself quite preoccupied.

Then, I saw the beastly machine, emerging from the forest, ready to attack. This time, the three girls emerged in a more dramatic form, with smoke pouring from the inside of the machine as they stepped out.

Their leader, Azula, stood stiff and straight, and not a hint of a smile. She spoke clearly, "I see you've been informed of our plans by your little friend. I can assure you we won't have a similar blunder as-"

I don't know what possessed me to so it, but I chucked on of my rocks in her general direction.

Those years of Little League paid off. I hit her square on the forehead.

Azula flared. She picked up the stone and glared in the direction where it cam from. "You think this is a laughing matter, Avatar? Prepare to meet your downfall!"

And with that, she shot a blue spark of electricity at Aang. He was able to dodge it, however, and he called out, "NOW!"

Toph sent a hurling mass of rock and earth toward Azula, and Sokka sprang from his place, wielding his boomerang. Kris and I looked at each other, then emerged from behind the rock with our 'weapons' and ran to the others.

Off not far from here, Zuko awoke with a start. "Uncle, what's that screaming?" he asked, sitting up in his sleeping bag. Then, there was the sound of explosion, and both Zuko and Iroh jumped up and left their tent to find the origin of the booms.

Kris was unstoppable. She sprinted towards the girl in the black robe, her log held over her head. "Ya wanna throw me off a cliff, huh? Not that easy, sistah!" And she was about to fling the log at her when the girl flung some ninja-ish shuriken straight at her, and she stuck up the log in front of her face. Amazingly enough, it was an effective shield, and Kris was able to block the weapons. For a split second, Kris welled with pride and was distracted, and that was when Ty Lee jumped from behind and poked Kris so that she was immobilized. "Hey!" Kris screamed as she fell to the ground, "You cheated!"

Melissa, on the other hand, was not so brave. But when she saw Kris fall to the ground, she gathered all her courage and flung a few stones at Ty Lee's direction. It hit her on the shoulder and the foot. "Mai, look! The sky is falling!" she wailed as she covered her head. Mai rolled her eyes. "It's just that twerp throwing rocks at us. Come on, let's get her!"

Melissa panicked, and dashed into the bush next to her. She crawled on her hands and knees to a spot where she had a good view of the action, but was still hidden.

Aang breathlessly shot another burst of air at Azula, but again, she dodged it, shooting a blue flame right back at him. Katara had tried to come to his aid, but Mai had managed to go ninja on her and pin her to a tree. And, in a matter of seconds, Sokka was down, victim of Ty Lee's skilled poking.

"Guess it's up to me," Toph sighed, as she jumped to Azula's vibrations.

"Not you again," Azula growled, and re-directed her fire to Toph. The blind girl couldn't exactly make out where to flame was coming from, so when she ducked, she still felt a burning sensation on her left arm. She groaned.

"Toph!" Katara cried, and with all her might, she broke free of the shuriken and rushed toward Azula.

Just then, Zuko came running from the bushes, with Iroh behind him. "Hey, what the-" he began.

Azula caught him in the corner of her eye. "Zuko? What-"

"Go!" Aang cried, and he, Katara, and Toph both sent a wave of their respective elements at the momentarily distracted princess.

But Azula was quick to react, and she shot a blue flame right at the three streams of attacks.

From his perch on the cliff, Tyler gulped.

All four elements in one?

If my calculations are correct…

From my place in the bush, I watched all four elements collide at one point.

"Oh -" I began, but I couldn't finish.

There was a blinding, silent flash of light, and then, nothing. Blackness.

And then, I woke up.


End file.
